2016 Mini Cooper S problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (4) · Power Train (2) · Exterior Lighting (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mini Cooper S model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Exterior Lighting:brake Lights 2017-03-31 · campaign 17V222000 · 16,883 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2016-2017 MINI Cooper Clubman, Cooper S Clubman and JCW Clubman vehicles. When the affected vehicles are braking and the turn signals are on, the inner, bumper-mounted, brake light will go out. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: If the brake light does not illuminate when a turn signal is activated, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the vehicle to correct the brake lighting, free of charge. The recall began May 22, 2017. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Seat Belts:front:retractor 2016-10-17 · campaign 16V747000 · 15,455 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, MINI Hardtop 4 Door Cooper, Mini Hardtop 4 Door Cooper S, MINI Cooper Clubman, and Cooper S Clubman, 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and 2016 528i vehicles. The vehicle-sensitive locking mechanism of the seat belt Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) for the driver's seat may not lock as designed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F
Risk: In the event of a crash where heavy braking is applied, the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) may activate when the occupant is more forward in the seat, possibly increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2015-10-07 · campaign 15V628000 · 6,073 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper two-door vehicles, 2015-2016 MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper four-door vehicles and 2014-2015 BMW i3 vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the passenger frontal air bag may not deploy properly in a low speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: In the event of a vehicle crash, an air bag that does not deploy properly increases the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.
Fix: MINI and BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on November 25, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 and BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Service bulletins (338)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2023-10-25 · M610607 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
mini electrical systems have continued to develop over the past few years. as a result, the demand on the batteries has increased. breakdowns due to an empty battery or problems in the vehicles electrical system can have various causes, most of which are not due to the battery itself. for this rea
Structure:body:roof And Pillars 2023-08-01 · M540123 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
?the panoramic roof sunblind does not close, or jams while closing.
Communication:manufacturer Telematics 2023-08-01 · M110323 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
?bmw ag has issued a delivery stop: replace charge air line.
Electrical System 2023-03-01 · M840322 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the 3g network in the us has been shut down. this means that only the 4g network will be available. in the 4g network, voice calls will be transferred via voice over lte (volte) function. for this purpose, the sim card must perform an ims registration in the mobile communication network. due to a pr
Exterior Lighting 2023-03-01 · M610223 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the buttons on the gear selector switch (gws) do not work, or the function indicator lighting has failed.
Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery 2023-03-01 · M610123 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
oscillations in the electric drive can occur. as a result, the 12 v positive battery cable may rub against the battery box cover.
Showing the 6 most recent of 338 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-22 · Power Train“on september 13, 2026, my vehicle experienced a failure of the internal steptronic automatic transmission gear selector position-detection return spring (torsion spring). this mechanical failure triggered persistent dashboard safety warnings reading: "p secure vehicle against rolling" and "transmission: secure vehicle with parking brake when stoppe…”
2025-07-22 · Engine“front passenger side motor mount failed pretty terribly, the rubber completely slipped off the engine side mount leaving a severe engine vibration. the mount is very under engineered. ours failed at 27,0000 miles.…”
2025-04-01 · Exterior Lighting · 34,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 mini cooper s. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "left brake lamp and tailgate light malfunction" was displayed and while depressing the brake pedal the driver’s side rear brake light failed to illuminate. additionally, the left turn signal was blinking quickly while activated. the vehicle was …”
2024-11-23 · Engine“there have been thousands upon thousands of failures of the oil cooler/oil filter housing on all bmw/mini b46/b48 2.0t engines. this problem dates back to 2014 when bmw issued a stop sale order and recall on the 2014 mini cooper with both the 1.5l i3 (b38) and 2.0l i4 (b48) engines. since 2014, the engine has been installed in over two million vehi…”
2021-02-15 · Exterior Lighting · 67,000 mi“while driving home thursday night i received left tail light malfunction waring on my dash panel with the turn signal blinking extremely fast. after arriving home i checked the light and found that the tail light inoperative and the turn signals were extremely dim. the next morning i called tucson mini and told them the problem. the sa stated to br…”
2020-04-30 · Engine · 41,000 mi · 🔥 fire“tl* the contact owned 2016 mini cooper s. contact stated that while his wife was driving at 40 mph, without warning an smoke appeared on the front passenger side under the hood. the contact stated his wife pulled to the side of the road and exited the vehicle before the whole vehicle was engulfed in flames. the fire department extinguished the flam…”
2019-08-19 · Power Train · 18,000 mi · 💥 crash“tl* the contact owns a 2016 mini cooper s. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on a hill of a driveway, fifteen minutes later the vehicle shifted out of park and rolled away. as a result, the vehicle crashed through the contact's garage door. there was no police report filed and no injuries reported. the vehicle was parked with the…”
2019-02-25 · Engine · 43,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2016 mini cooper s. while driving 35 mph, the check engine and oil warning indicators illuminated. also, the instrument panel alerted the contact to shut off the engine. the contact stated that the oil dipstick showed that there was no oil in the engine. the vehicle was towed to mini of ft. myers (located at 13880 s tamiami t…”
2017-05-15 · Steering · 57,085 mi · 🔥 fire“i purchased this mini cooper s on march 16, 2016 and it had 47,282 miles on it. i also bought a limited 90 day warranty offered by buddy's auto sales of springfield, mo. i trailered the car to phoenix where my son was to attend a motorcycle mechanic school in october. on october 07, 2016 we unloaded it from the trailer and parked it at a hotel. the…”
2017-05-09 · Seat Belts“seat belt on driver side of the convertible was rolling up on one side and not providing adequate safe restraint. was told by dealership that i was pulling the seat belt out with my left hand and sitting too close and that i should be pulling the seat belt out with my right hand. owners manual did not provide this information. contact with bmw of…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.